In recent years, as an environment-friendly vehicle, a vehicle mounted with a power storage device (for example, a secondary battery, a capacitor, and the like) and using a driving force generated by electric power stored in the power storage device for traveling attracts attention. Such a vehicle includes, for example, an electrically driven automobile, a hybrid automobile, a fuel cell vehicle, and the like. Further, a technology of using a commercial power supply achieving a high power generation efficiency to charge the power storage device provided in these vehicles has been proposed.
Similarly to an electrically driven automobile, there has been known a hybrid vehicle having an onboard power storage device capable of being charged (hereinafter, simply referred to as “external charging”) using a power supply provided outside the vehicle (hereinafter, simply referred to as “external power supply”). For example, there has been known a vehicle which is so called “plug-in hybrid vehicle”. The plug-in hybrid vehicle has a power storage device capable of being charged using a power supply of a general household by connecting a power outlet provided in a house and a charging slot provided in a vehicle through a power charging cable. Accordingly, fuel consumption efficiency of a hybrid automobile can be expected to be enhanced.
In such a vehicle capable of being externally charged, as can be seen in a smart grid, a concept of taking a vehicle as a power supply and supplying electric power from the vehicle to general electric equipment provided outside the vehicle is now under consideration. Further, in some cases, a vehicle is used as a power supply when using electric equipment during camping and working outside.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-035277 (PTL 1) discloses a vehicle having an onboard battery capable of being charged using a power charging cable, and particularly a power charge-discharge system capable of supplying electric power from a vehicle to electric load by using a power cable dedicated for supplying electric power, different from a power charging cable, connectable with a power supply outlet of electric load provided outside the vehicle.